August 25 and Counting

Newcomer

Greetings to all. I'll be stepping off the plane at EZE (deo volente) on 25th August to begin my much-awaited early retirement to BsAs.

I'll be studying Castellano at the Laboratorio de Idomas of the Faculdad de Filosofia y Letras on 25 de mayo shortly thereafter, and eventually hope also to work towards a master's in Argentine/Southern Cone history. I've also played the piano all my life (jazz, blues, standards) and look forward to being able to pursue some avocational playing in Baires.

Renting a room in Martinez at first while I search for a long-term apartment, probably in Barrio Norte or Belgrano, as mi novia lives in San Fernando and I'd like to be somewhere between her place and the Microcentro.

I've traveled a lot, mostly France and Western Europe but also Latin America, and am very excited about my decision to relocate to BsAs. I look forward to meeting fellow expats and enjoy your posts here concerning your experiences.

Cheers,

Peter Winterble
New York City

Guest

Hola Peter,
Sounds like you will be diving in head first to Argentine culture. I am taking classes at UBA right now, so if you have any questions about them, feel free to ask. I have also found that language exchanges and private lessons help things a great deal as well.
Good luck!
Debra

Newcomer

It seems you've really been a busy bee since your arrival in BsAs. I'm hoping to take it easy at first and just re-acquaint myself. The first class I can take at the Laboratorio de Idiomas starts in October, so I'll have time to do my apartment-searching and, I hope, get fairly well set up so I'll be free to work hard at UBA. My GF is a native Portena and also a teacher at the Northlands school out in Olivos and she is a great resource to me about getting things done and figuring things out. Other than learning Castellano and learning the city, I don't have a lot more on my agenda. During my many visits and stays in Paris over the last 25 years I really got to know that city and just about all the arrondisements -- though some of them are pretty bleak -- and also traveled around the country, especially in Normandy, which is my favorite part. I'm hoping to do the same in Argentina and am just now dealing with the geographic reality that one has to traverse a lot of Pampas to get to the Andean and Patagonian areas. Probably means a lot of long bus rides, as I don't want to fly, at least at first, because I want to have a sense of the distances involved. My GF has a week off from school in September and we're going to try to nose around the Mendoza area. She has some friends there and I have a friend from Washington Post days who's married to an Argie and they run a high-end wine-tour company (beyond my financial means -- like u$s 2500 a week!), but it will be fun to see her. I do look forward to the dinners and to meeting some of the peeps whose messages I've been reading now for over a year. Thanks for your note and continued good luck... Peter